Portable canopy-support.



T. M. FLY.

PORTABLE CANOPY SUPPORT.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT.-18, 1912.

. 1,056,654, Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS M. FLY, 01? LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

PORTABLE CANOPY-SUPPORT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THouAs M. FLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Portable Canopy- Supports, of which the following is a speci fication.

The present invention has reference to portable canopy supports, and it comprehends, briefly, an improved device of the type stated which is especially designed for supporting a fly or mosquito screen and is so constructed as to permit its being attached to beds of different sizes and styles, and at any desired point thereon, so as to vary the position of the supporting frame relative to the occupant or occupants of the beds.

More particularly, however, the invention resides in certain hereinafter described improvements in the construction of the aforementioned frame, whereby the same may be enlarged or diminished to suit requirements, and may serve to support the screen without necessitating the employment of hooks or similar pointed devices which might tear or otherwise injure the screen. Furthermore, the component parts of the frame are so connected with each other as to admit of their being taken apart and packed away in a comparatively small space for transportation or storage purposes.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the said invention attached to a bed, the latter being shown partly in section; Fig. 2 is a fragmental side elevation of the main element of the frame, showing the manner in which the members thereof are connected together; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the other component element of the frame; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the member which directly supports the frame; and Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the connection between the member depicted in Fig.4 and the adjacent member of the support.

As shown in said drawings, the improved support consists primarily of two main parts or elements, viz., the frame A, and the support proper B. The latter part or element comprises, in the present instance, three rodlike members which are indicated, respec- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 18, 1912.

Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

Serial N 0. 721,084.

tively, by the numerals 3, 4, and 5; the base and intermediate members 8 and 4 are disposed in vertical alinement, while the top member 5 is offset, being disposed at an oblique angle thereto. The base member 3 is provided at its lower end with a suitable clamp which is adapted for engagement with one of the rails 6 or other part of the bed and is here shown as embodying a yoke 7, one of whose legs carries an adjustable fastening bolt 8. At its upper end, the aforesaid member 3 is formed with an axial socket 9, wherein is received the lower end of the intermediate member at, to which latter the top member is connected, in turn, by a clasp 10, preferably in the form of a rectangular skeleton frame carrying at one end a roller 11. This clasp straddles diagonally the adjacent ends of the said members ff and 5 in the manner depicted in Figs. 1 and 5, its roller 11 being engaged at opposite sides by the cooperating shoulders 12 and 13, with which the aforesaid ends are provided. The shoulders just mentioned are formed by notching the members at and 5 at the points 1 indicated, and the end of the member 5 is slightly reduced or cut away at one side, to permit it to be withdrawn from the clasp on being raised sufficiently to disengage its shoulder 13 from said roller, this construction also permitting the said reduced end to be inserted across the end of member 4; and through the clasp, when the parts of the support are to be set up.

The frame A, which is carried by the support B, as hereinafter described, consists of an annular element or rim 1 1, and a series of radiallyarranged tapes 15. The rim 1 1 is made up, preferably, of a plurality of sections 16 of steel wire, having a pin-andsocket or other suitable connections with one another at their mutually-adjacent ends, one end of each section being provided with a reduced axial extension or pin 17, and the opposite end thereof with an axial socket 18, as shown in Fig. 2. This construction obviously permits the sections of the rim to be taken apart, and the diameter of t-he rim to be increased or decreased to suit particular conditions by increasing or decreasing the number of such sections. When these sections are put together, they are necessarily somewhat flexed, and, therefore, are prevented from becoming accidentally detached by reason of the tension which they exert upon one another.

The tapes 15 may be made of any suitable textile or other material and as many of them may be used as considered advisable. They are provided at their outer ends with rings 19, which loosely engage the rim 14, and are connected at their inner ends to a somewhat larger ring 20, to which is fastened a plate 21 provided with an upstanding axial sleeve 22 that is fitted over an upturned terminal finger 23 on the top member 5 of the support B. The rings 19 are slipped on the rim element just before the last section of the latter is put in place, and the length of the tapes is such that hey are slightly stretched and tautened incidental to the afore-mentioned engagement of said rings 19 with said rim.

The canopy or screen 2a, which may be of any desired material, is draped over the frame and around the bed in the usual manner, the provision of the clamp carried by the base member of the support permitting the latter to be attached to any part of the 7 bed which may be considered suitable, and

at any point on such part, so that an adjustment of considerable range or extent is thus obtained. Also, the adjustment of the frame itself, in point of size, renders the device as a whole applicable to beds of dif ferent dimensions, as will be understood. Finally, the component parts of the device are separable from one another, and may be packed into a comparatively small space, thus rendering it possible to transport the device from one place to another in a suit case, or other piece of luggage, and to utilize it when needed, this being especially true when the device is employed as a support for a fly or mosquito screen, which is its preferred and most important use. When so utilized, it is to be noted that the absence of all hooks, pins, or the like on the frame precludes the screen from being torn while being positioned uponsaid frame.

Having fully described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination, with a support; of a screen-supporting frame carried thereby and comprising an annular rim consisting of a plurality of flexible wires detachably connected at their mutually-adjacent ends, a ring disposed concentrically with said rim, and a series of radially-arranged elements connected at their outer ends to said rim and at their inner ends to said ring.

2. The combination, with a support; of a screen-supporting frame carried thereby and comprising an annular rim consisting of a plurality of flexible wires detachably connected at their mutually-adjacent ends, a ring disposed concentrically with said rim, and a series of radially-arranged flexible tapes connected at their outer ends to said rim and at their inner ends to said ring and tautened incidental to such connections.

The combination, with a screen-slur oortin frame of a suaaort whereon said frame is mounted embodying vertical and laterally-offset members provided at their confronting ends with cooperating shoulders, and a clasp straddling said ends and removably engaged at one end by said shoulders.

4. The combination, with a screen-supporting frame; of a support whereon said frame is mounted embodying vertical and laterally-offset members provided at their confronting ends with cooperating shoulders, and a clasp straddling said ends diagonally and removably engaged at one end by said shoulders, said clasp end being held in such engagement by the weight of said offset member directed upon its other end.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS M. FLY. Witnesses H. B. TAYLOR, J. B. IVY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

